Publications

March 2006
Course Overview Note

International Finance: A Course Overview Note

By: Mihir A. Desai

Describes the International Finance course at Harvard Business School, which argues that the forces of globalization have fundamentally changed the scope and activities of firms, thereby altering the practice of finance within these firms. As a consequence of an... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Business Ventures; Integration; Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Risk Management; Competitive Advantage; Motivation and Incentives; International Finance; Capital Markets

21 Nov 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, November 21, 2017

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53530 forthcoming Review of Financial Studies Asset Price Dynamics in Partially Segmented Markets By: Greenwood, Robin, Samuel Gregory Hanson, and Gordon Y. Liao Abstract—We develop a model... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

When Good Incentives Lead to Bad Decisions

Among the culprits contributing to the recent financial crisis were bank loan officers who approved mortgage loans that were doomed to fail. Many of these frontline workers were motivated by bonuses and... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Banking

16 Aug 2024
In Practice

Election 2024: What's at Stake for Business and the Workplace?

partisanship will continue to cloud economic judgment around the 2024 election. For managers and finance professionals, these insights highlight two important aspects of operating a business today: In a... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

May 2009
Article

Asymmetric Information Effects on Loan Spreads

By: Victoria Ivashina

The paper estimates the cost arising from information asymmetry between the lead bank and members of the lending syndicate. In a lending syndicate, the lead bank retains only a fraction of the loan but acts as the intermediary between the borrower and the syndicate... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Interest Rates; Capital; Investment Portfolio; Credit; Diversification; Risk and Uncertainty

SSRN

Find at Harvard

20 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

Big Deal: Reflections on the Megamerger of American and US Airways

the interests of select stakeholders. By giving managers and entrepreneurs a "second bite at the apple" if they take reasonable risks that turn our poorly, Chapter 11... View Details

Keywords: Re: Rosabeth M. Kanter & Stuart C. Gilson; Air Transportation

September 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Yale University Investments Office: June 2003

By: Josh Lerner

The Yale Investments Office must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments--hedge funds, private equity, real estate, and so forth. Considers the risks and benefits of a different asset allocation strategy.... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Assets; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Resource Allocation; Partners and Partnerships; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Education Industry

March 1985 (Revised November 1988)
Case

Precision Parts, Inc. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a decision confronting two entrepreneurs in mid-1981. They are considering purchasing a small manufacturer of precision electromechanical parts. Among the issues in the case are the following: 1) Should Taylor and Grayson buy Precision Parts,... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Cost vs Benefits; Investment Return; Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Risk and Uncertainty; Outcome or Result; Manufacturing Industry

18 Jul 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, July 18, 2017

suppliers that adopt legalization structures (operationalized as management system standards) and worker participation structures (unions) and find that the combination of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

In about four weeks, the bank had put in place VPN access for 9,000 people and provided a secure customer relationship app for sales and service people. This transition was not... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

January 2021
Case

Leading Culture Change at SEB

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Elena Corsi

The Risk organization at SEB, a leading Nordic financial services group founded in 1856, undertook a culture change program focused on psychological safety, empathic listening, and strategic framing. The program enabled risk organization teams to make progress on... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Risk Management; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Banking Industry; Sweden

June 2020
Case

RBC: Transforming Transformation (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Aldo Sesia

In 2017, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), a Canadian financial icon, mandated a swat team of “enablers of collaboration” (their job description) to support the personal and commercial bank in the enterprise-wide RBC Cultural Transformation initiative. Historically,... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Information Technology; Transformation; Change Management; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Decision Making; Human Resources; Management Systems; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Management Teams; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Canada

September 2004 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Catastrophe Bonds at Swiss Re

In 2002, Swiss Re, the world's second--largest insurance company, is considering securitizing parts of its risk portfolio in the capital markets. This would be a first for the company that, until then, had never transferred risk off its balance sheet. Peter Giessmann,... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Bonds; Natural Disasters; Insurance; Capital Markets; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Switzerland

24 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 24

information has increased considerably in the last decade, companies are still failing to disclose material information in a comparable format. We believe this has two downsides. On the one hand, companies are not adequately managing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 26, 2017

adjust products to highly protected markets or respond to limited local competition. In the contemporary global economy, political risks partially declined with the spread of liberalization and the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 7: Designing Asset Allocation Systems

By: Robert Simons

This module reading provides tools and analyses for acquiring and allocating resources. The module begins by reviewing the importance of setting strategic boundaries as a basis for asset acquisitions. Next, a distinction is made between new assets acquired to meet... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Asset Allocation Systems; Payback; Discounted Cash Flow; Internal Rate Of Return; Strategic Investments; Analyzing Acquisitions; Strategy; Capital Budgeting